Various electrical connectors include an insulating body for housing a plurality of closely spaced terminals with terminal pins depending from the housing to be inserted into holes in a printed circuit board. The holes may be plated with an electrically conductive material to establish an electrical connection with the terminal pins. In such instances, it is desirable that the posts establish a tight fit in the printed circuit board. Other terminals have solder pins inserted into the printed circuit board holes for soldering to circuit traces on the board.
Such connectors have a plurality of terminals, and the force needed to insert all of the terminals into all of the printed circuit boards often is more than can be accomplished manually in an efficient and cost effective manner. Manual insertion must involve inserting individual terminals, because, in many instances, simultaneous insertion of the terminals into the printed circuit board can require hundreds of pounds and even exceeding a 1000 pounds. Consequently, mass production or assembly of electrical connectors of the character described have required presses to perform the terminal insertion function.
Typically, a press includes a platen for receiving the printed circuit board, and the platen and board are positioned under a ram of the press. Press blocks are interposed between the connector and the press ram, the press blocks engaging terminal ends of the terminals to press the pin ends of the terminals, along with the connector housing, toward the printed circuit board and driving the terminal pins through the holes in the board. An example of a press head or ram is shown in Cappos et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,322, dated Nov. 19, 1985, and an example of a press block assembly is shown in Goss U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,795, dated July 26, 1983.
There are a number of problems in designing presses and press block assemblies of the character described. One problem involves the positioning and holding of the connector on the printed circuit board to prevent the connector from twisting or tilting during the pressing operation, which could damage, break or bend the terminal pins. This invention is directed to solving this problem by providing an improved locator plate positionable on top of the printed circuit board for locating the connector housings and maintaining the housings in proper orientation.
Another and significant problem involves the design of the press blocks themselves which engage the terminal pins and/or connector housing to press the pins into the holes in the printed circuit board. Typically, the press blocks are manually assembled. Heretofore, known press block assemblies are very cumbersome and require the entire assembly to be dismantled for a given connector application. In other words, connectors can vary in size and shape and the press block assemblies must be of a similar size. Therefore, either a considerable inventory of press blocks must be maintained, or modular press block assemblies are used and which can be assembled in different sizes by adding or subtracting block modules, such as shown in the aforesaid 4,394,795 patent. The press block assembly of that patent is difficult to dismantle and reassemble because of its multiple component design and the use of individual push pins for engaging the terminal pins.
This invention is directed to providing a considerably more simplified and easily used press block assembly than has heretofore been available.